osteoporosis
Women and men who have stomach reduction surgery to lose weight may be losing bone even when they take daily calcium supplements, putting them at risk for osteoporosis and bone fracture. These findings from a University of Pittsburgh study were presented Sunday in San Diego at the American Society of Nutritional Sciences program, part of the Experimental Biology 2003 meeting.
Drugs commonly prescribed to osteoporosis and cancer patients may also cause serious ocular side effects in some cases. That's the conclusion of a study published today by scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute. This research is expected to alert physicians to monitor patients for eye problems not previously associated with the drug. The announcement may also help physicians identify problems earlier, therefore preventing long-term sight damage. Finally, this finding may prompt drug companies to update their product labeling, forewarning physicians and users.
Women with low milk intake during childhood and adolescence have lower bone mass in adulthood and greater risk of fracture ? independent of their current milk or calcium intake, according to a new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study of milk intake during childhood and its effect on osteoporosis.
First- or second-hand exposure to cigarettes can lead to a variety of diseases, including tissue destruction found in pulmonary emphysema and osteoporosis. Also included among cigarette smoking-induced diseases are disorders in which an excessive deposition of fibrotic scar occurs, such as with atherosclerosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Collagen is the major protein of the white fibers found in connective tissue, cartilage, and bone.
Large doses of a bone anabolic hormone called parathyroid hormone-related protein, PTHrP, increases spine bone mineral density in post-menopausal women by almost five percent in only three months, according to a study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Researchers have discovered that molecules in aging bones are unable to remain in step with one another during the complex molecular dance that results in healthy bones. The missteps by aging cells responsible for bone formation trigger cells that tear down bone. The result is the thinning of the bones characteristic of osteoporosis, according to preliminary research by Bernard Halloran, PhD, of the Laboratory for Human Aging and Bone Research at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
While day-to-day physical activities such as walking, housework and shopping may be good for your heart, they don't do much for your bones, according to a Johns Hopkins study. The new report, published in the November issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, found that neither light-intensity activities nor aerobic fitness level contributed to bone health, contrasting previous studies suggesting that aerobics could play a role. Having a few extra pounds, however, was a help. Among a group of older adults studied, those with greater muscle strength and higher body fat, especially in the abdomen, had higher bone mineral densities.
Using a common diabetes drug, researchers in Los Angeles have successfully treated pituitary tumors that cause a potentially life-threatening condition known as Cushing's syndrome. The most common type of Cushing's syndrome is caused by prolonged high-level exposure of a hormone called ACTH (adrenocorticotropin), which is secreted in excess by tumors of the pituitary gland, situated at the base of the brain and, which controls growth, metabolism and reproduction. Although the disorder is rare, it affects more women than men by a ratio of 5:1. Symptoms include weight gain with rounding of the face; increased fat in the neck; thinning skin; excess hair growth on the face neck, chest abdomen and thighs; muscle weakness and bone loss (osteoporosis); high blood sugar; diabetes; and high blood pressure.
A completely new type of therapy, using a unique class of synthetic compounds, may someday protect both men and women from the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. Researchers reported in the October 25 issue of Science that early studies of one of these compounds called estren successfully preserved and even restored bone mass in an animal model without the side effects associated with sex hormone therapies.
Pre-cells destined to become fat can be converted instead into true bone cells in
response to outside signals, say researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. The finding could pave the way for scientists to replenish lost bone cells in patients with conditions like osteoporosis, and to help repair bone defects. The new bone cells have all the hallmarks associated with mature bone formation, including production of bone proteins and calcification, the UCSF team says.
